According to Otis Elevator Company, around 85% of elevator panels omit the number 13. What's more, entire hotels are built without a 13th floor. How did 13 end up with such negative connotations?
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For instance, many hotels in Asia don't subscribe to the Western superstition surrounding the number 13. Instead, they sometimes exclude the 4th floor, as the pronunciation of 'four' in Mandarin, Cantonese, and several other languages sounds similar to the word for 'death.
In fact, the Otis Elevators company estimates that 85% of the buildings with their elevators don't have a named 13th floor. Of course, not all hotels skip the 13th floor. Or labeling it as M (which is the 13th letter of the alphabet) and/or designating it as the Mechanical floor.
While some hotels avoid having a 13th floor, others are choosing to skip the number 420, in order to deter cannabis smokers. To most people it means nothing, but the number 420 has a long association with cannabis and is often used as a code for those in the know.
But it doesn't stop there – the number 13 itself is considered unlucky which is why it is rare to spot a restaurant that has a table #13, a hospital with a room or bed bearing the number 13, a hotel with a 13th floor or a room number 13. How does this superstition affect hotels? Here's the thing.
Small, medium and large hotelsHotels are often described by size. A small hotel generally has 150 rooms or fewer, a medium hotel has 151 to 299 room and a large hotel has 300 to 600 rooms.
With that said, some of NYC's most famous buildings do have 13th floors. The Empire State Building has one. So does the Flatiron, as did the Twin Towers. One World Trade Center includes it, as do all Hilton International hotels.
Ever wonder why you've never stayed in a hotel room on the 13th floor? The answer is simple: The floor doesn't exist. It all comes down to triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13.
Because housekeeping employees typically work 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., hotels may need to pay overtime or add shifts to process early check-ins and late checkouts. That's costly. Hotels also risk losing revenue if you check out at, say, 8 p.m.--far past the time most guests are willing to check in.
On the flip side, the iconic Empire State Building does have a 13th floor. Triskaidekaphobic tenants aside, for 40 years, it stood as the tallest building in the world (1931–1972), holding the record longer than any of the other eight buildings that held it during the last century.